CHAPTER 1450: CHAPTER 1449: CHAT WITH MOTHER RIA

"I’m certain you didn’t just come over here without having a question on your mind, Katherine. Very rarely do you just pop up simply to spend some time with any of us... though I will admit that tends to be thanks to how everything has turned out."

Donning an expression of mock frustration at being labeled as someone who didn’t want to just spend time with my own family for no other reason than pure love made the Elf raise a brow at me as she added "You aren’t fooling me, Katherine. I’ve had to deal with many a Noble and all their asinine reasons for having certain emotions for far too long now."

"I will let you know I am fully capable of simply spending time with my wonderful Mother in law simply because she is an amazing woman and nothing more!"

Mother Ria just blinked once before arching that brow further as she just stared at me, wrapping us in a fragile silence that only existed to prove her point; there was a part of me that wanted to be stubborn and just keep quiet but that would just be a waste of time and otherwise stupid, so...

"Okay, I did have a question, one regarding how I should go about creating water sources for the city to utilize going forwards."

The older Elf nodded slowly with a gentle smile that just made me huff slightly as I turned away from her, attempting to scrap together some of my pride and only managing to make her pat my shoulder as she let me know that wasn’t happening.

"That is a tall order you have there, Katherine. Creating sustainable and renewable sources of water for a large amount of people is definitely no easy feat, but it is also by far the simplest problem you have ever brought to me."

It was my turn to raise a brow as I wondered what she meant, not seeing how this could be something that wasn’t easy yet also so simple at the same time; the answer was one I had puzzled out myself, but as always she knew a little bit more than I did.

"The reason that it isn’t easy but is also so incredibly simple has to do with the land we are on. This is a lively plains biome that gets a fair amount of rain every single year while also not being baked beneath the sun every summer. Due to that simple fact most of that water remains here... somewhere. Care to guess?"

I nodded and looked down at the grass beneath our feet, tapping my boot against it as I answered "The aquifers." which earned me a nod as she repeated "The aquifers. That’s where all the water is. Every rainfall has deposited a fair amount of water here, and what little doesn’t get used seeps into the ground and gets trapped in pockets waiting to be used by the plants that need it."

"But how can I find them and turn them into sources of renewable water? You said it yourself, they were created by what little remained."

Her smile reminded me far too much of a professor’s as she lazily gestured at the land around us, repeating herself again as she waited for me to find the answer myself, which... made me feel dumb again, but also reminded me why I was grateful to have her in my life.

"Every rainfall deposits a fair amount, and what little doesn’t get used seeps into the ground to create those aquifers. What does that mean, Katherine?"

"It isn’t a ’little’ amount of water anymore... those pockets just keep growing after every rainfall, and that means that there should be more than a few large sources of water waiting to be discovered."

"Not only that but they can be altered with magic. You have a good grasp on the magic needed already, and you also have another source of water in that nifty bracelet of yours. Combine some Ritual Circles with a Water Mana Crystal and you should have exactly what you need."

Mother Ria pat my shoulder again before reaching up and resting her hand atop my head, mimicking what Jahi always did as she ruffled the area between my ears and temporarily reminded me just how glorious pats could be.

"Adorable. I always will find it to be a shame that your Mother is unlikely to ever give birth to a pup... Alas, Demon and Elf blood is far too strong for Beastkin... and I at least have grand babies to look forward to~!"

The slight teasing tone she took as she reminded me that any children I had with Anput would be entirely Caninekin made me blush since I had never really given that much thought; sure I had thought about how we would eventually have children but I had never thought about how the rest of our family would react to them.

"Always thinking so much yet never thinking enough... such a troublesome daughter you are, and yet you turned out so well. You might just be too good for Jahi, though I suppose that means you balance her out perfectly enough."

Another rub on the head had my eyes lolling about slightly as I just let her do as she pleased, but I was able to say "I’m the way I am because you, Mom and Mother all helped raise me.", though where I had hoped to make her sappy I was instead teased further.

The mock indignation she wore on her face as she gasped and said "I don’t think you are the way you are because of me! If you were you’d be far more prim and proper, definitely less... what is it that Chordeva called you? Less... murderpuppy." made me blink a few times as my brain did a soft reset, and that was enough to give her the upper hand to keep going.

"Chordeva definitely shaped you into this more than I did, yes... I’ll have to tell Julie about this later to see if she agrees... Such a troublesome young woman you ended up becoming, going on all these crazy adventures, away from home for so long."

The fake Noblewoman that I imagined she presented herself as at any sort of formal occasion had me rather confused before I just smiled wryly at her as she piled on all sorts of mannerisms that were so stuffy and obviously fake, finding enjoyment in how she kept it going until finally she let it all go and just kissed the side of my head.

"Never could have imagined that I would have gotten such a good daughter from a favor being cashed in... We are lucky to have you, Katherine, truly."